Haryana teenager Pooja ended India's 23-year wait for a medal in women's high jump at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, when she struck gold with a personal best on Friday.

Pooja stood taller on the podium after an impressive effort of 1.89 m, which was just 3 cm short of Sahana Kumari's national record set in 2012. She went for Kumari's mark, but couldn't clear. However, the gold was already secured, while Kazakhstan's Yelizaveta Matveyeva (1.86m) and Uzbekistan's Safina Sadullaeva (1.86m) claimed silver and bronze repsectively.

Kerala's Bobby Aloysius was the last Indian women's high jumper to win medals in Asian Athletics. The former national record holder cleared 1.83m for gold in Jakarta (2000) and 1.84m for silver two years later in Colombo.

Pooja, who is only 18, has been one of the most consistent young Indian athletes. She cleared 1.82m in the Asian U20 Championships in 2023, which fetched her silver. Last year, the native of Fatehabad improved her personal best by 2 cm, and now has reached within striking distance of the national record.

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Her latest performance is the third-best in the world this season among U20 athletes, behind Hungarian Lilianna Batori (1.93m) and Croatian Jana Koscak (1.91m).

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